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Our blogs provide fresh, impassioned and authoritative commentary and insight about the variety of civil-liberties issues that the ACLU of Michigan takes up each day in our courts, governments and communities.

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With the help of dedicated volunteers and community activists, the ACLU of Michigan works to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

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The ACLU of Michigan is one of more than 50 affiliates in the United States. As such, we encourage you to know as much as possible about your civil liberties. Further, if you feel those liberties have been violated, we suggest you submit a complaint. We only accept complaints that occur within the State of Michigan. If your complaint arose in a state other than Michigan, you must contact the ACLU office in that state.

About Us

Since our founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union has led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties. Through the passion of our supporters, we have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 active members and supporters with 54 state affiliate offices as well as a legislative office in Washington, DC.

Secretary of State

Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan's LGBT Project, reacted today to news that Judge Nancy Edmunds dismissed the group's lawsuit against the state Secretary of State for its discriminatory ID policy. After the ACLU of Michigan filed its lawsuit in May 2015, the Secretary of State implemented significant changes designed to make it easier for transgender Michiganders to obtain ID that accurately reflects their gender:

ACLU Lawyers Argue That Michigan Secretary of State ID Policy Is Illegal

2015-11-05 00:00:00

DETROIT—Lawyers from the ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan argued Wednesday against a Michigan Secretary of State policy that prevents many transgender men and women from correcting the gender on their driver’s licenses and other forms of identification.

The arguments came after the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in May against the state on behalf of six plaintiffs seeking to overturn the policy as unconstitutional and an unnecessary impediment to the recognition and respect of their gender identities.

DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan announced on Thursday that they have filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Secretary of State challenging a department policy that makes it impossible for many transgender individuals to correct the gender on their driver’s licenses and other forms of identification.